Johnny Lee Kwing-kai was born in Hong Kong. After graduating from the University of Hong Kong, he started working for the Dutch shipping company KNSM as assistant manager. In 1979 and 1980, Lee served as coordinator of the Asian Arts Festival and Hong Kong International Film Festival. From 1980 to 1981, he worked at Rediffusion Television as associate producer and script supervisor, He joined the film industry in 1981, working as a script supervisor at Shaw Brothers while also serving as assistant director.